Machine for stiffening brims of hats



4 Sheets-Sheet 1. L. R. HEIM. MACHINE FOR STIPFENING BRIMS OP HATS.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 13, 1897.

WITNESSES:

' ATT N'EY.

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(No'ModeL) 4 Sheets--Sheet 2.

L. R. HEIM. MACHINE FOR STIPFENING- BRIMS 0P HATS. No. 580,396.vPatentedApr. 13, 1897.

WITNESSES:

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

L. R. HEIM. I MACHINE FOR STIPFENING BRIMS 0F HATS. No. 580,396.

a om WITNESSES 7 (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

L. R. HEIM. MACHINE FOR STIPFENING BRIMS 0P HATS.

No. 580,396. Patented A r 13, 1897.

lhyrrn terns MACHINE FOR STIFFENING BRIM S OF HATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,396, dated April13, 1897.

Application filed August 14, 1896. Serial No. 662,748. (No modei.)

To aZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS R. HEIM, a citizen of the United States,residing at Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inMachines for Stiffening the Brims of Hats; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in machinesfor sti Ffening the bri ms of hats, and has for its object to provide amachine of this description which shall be rapid and efficient inoperation and which shall greatly improve the quality of work donethereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine; Fig.2, a horizontal section taken 011 the lineacm of Fig. 1; Fig.3,avertical longitudinal sectional elevation taken on the line y y of Fig.2; Fig. 4, a detail plan view of the two cams employed in my machine;Fig. 5, a detail perspective view of such cams; Fig. 6, an enlargeddetail perspective view of the clutch mechanism carried on the end ofthe powershaft, and Fig. 7 a detail perspective view of a plate whichsupports the base of the hatbody.

Similar numbers of reference denote like parts in the several figures ofthe drawings.

1 is a bed or table supported by suitable legs 2.

3 is the power-shaft, journaled in bearings 4, bolted to the under sideof the table 1.

5 6 are conical-shaped feed-rolls secured, respectively, on the upperendsof inclined shafts 7 8, the latter being journaled in adjustablebrackets or supports 9 10. Rigid with the table are cars 11, betweenwhich the bracket 9 is pivoted.

12 is a set-screw tapped within the upper end of a post 13 which risesfrom the table in the immediate rear of the bracket 9. The end of theset'screw 12 bears against the bracket 9,and by manipulating this screwsaid 50 bracket may be rocked on its pivot and the roll 5 adjusted to aproper plane with respect to the roll 6, as will be readily understoodby reference to Figs. 1 and 3.

14 is a slide working in ways 15, formed on the table, and 16 are earswhich rise from the inner end of said slide an d between which thebracket is pivoted.

17 is a post formed rigid with the slide 14, and 18 is a set-screwtapped within the upper end of said post. The end of the set-screw 18bears against the outer portion of the bracket 10, and by manipulatingthis screw said bracket 3 may be rocked on its pivot, whereby the roll 6may be adjusted with respect to the roll 5.

19 is a post formed rigidly with the table, and 20 is a coil-springwhich is interposed between the post 17 on the slide 14 and said post19. The spring 20 exerts a tendency to keep the roll 6 pressed tightlyagainst the roll 5.

21 is a leverpivoted to the post 19 at 22, and 23 is a link one end ofwhich is pivoted to said lever, while the other end is pivoted to thepost 17 on the slide 14. By depressing the lever 21 the slide 14 will bemoved against the resiliency of the spring 20 and the roll 6 will bewithdrawn from the roll 5, so that a hatbody may be readily inserted inproper position between the conical-shaped rolls.

Secured to the bracket 10, by a screw-bolt 24, is an arm 25, within theupper portion of which is loosely journaled a conical-shaped roller 26.

27 is an adjustable collar on the spindle of the roller 26, by means ofwhich the vertical adjustment of said roller is effected.

28 is an adjustable plate, also secured to the bracket 10 by ascrew-bolt 28;

The conical-shaped roller 26 acts as a support for the tip of the hat,while the plate 28 serves to support the base of the hat.

29 30 are two bevel-gears secured on the power-shaft 3, which intermeshwith the re spective gears 31 32 011 the ends of the shafts 7 8, wherebymotion is communicated from the power-sl1aft to the conical-shaped rolls9 10.

The stiffening compound is contained within a reservoir 33, locatedsomewhat above the horizontal plane of the rolls 5 6, and 34 is a pipewhich conducts the stiffening compound from the reservoir to thehat-body.

35 are two nozzles secured to the end of the pipe 34 in such manner thatas the hat is rotated between therolls 5 6 the stiffening compound willflow from said nozzles both upon the inside and outside surfaces of thehatbody. The extremities of the nozzles 35 are flattened, so that theliquid flowing therefrom upon the hat-body will be evenly spreadthereon.

36 is a cock by means of which the quantity of liquid flowing throughthe pipe 34 may be regulated. The pipe 34 leads from a valve chamber 37at the bottom of the reservoir, and 38 is a slide-valve working in saidchamber, which controls the flow of liquid therefrom.

When the valve 38 is in its highest position, as shown in Fig. 3, thesupply of liquid from the reservoir will be out off; but when said valveoccupies its lowest position the stiffening will be free to flow throughthe pipe 34 to the hat. This valve 38 is automatic in its operation, andthe mechanism for effecting the movements of said valve I will nowdescribe.

- 39 is a short vertical shaft or spindle secured to the bottom of thetable, and 40 is a spur-gear j ournaled loosely around said shaft.

41 is a vertical slide which works in away 42, planed in a support 43.

44 is a lever pivoted at 45 to a post 46, rigid with the table, one endof said lever being pivotally connected to the upper end of the verticalslide 41, while the other end is pivoted to the lower end of a link 47.The upper end of the link 4'7 is pivoted at 48 to the end of theslide-valve 38.

49 is a cam formed upon the face of the gear 40, upon which the lowerend of the vertical slide 41 tracks. The weight of the slide 41 issufficient to keep said slide normally pressed against the cam 49. Thecontour of the cam 49 is such that when said cam is rotated a verticalreciprocation will beimparted to the slide 41.

Motion is imparted to the gear 40 from a spur-pinion 50, formed on thehub of a bevelgear 51, which is loosely journ aled around a verticalspindle 52, secured to the bottom of the table. The bevel-gear 51 mesheswith and is driven by a bevel-gear 53, secured on the power shaft. Theproportions of the gears 40 50 51 53 are such that the powershaft will.make ten revolutions to revolve the gear 40 once.

The clutch mechanism, whereby the machine is started and automaticallybrought to a standstill, I will now describe.

54 is the power-pulley loosely mounted on the end of the power-shaft,and 55 are teeth formed on the hub of said pulley.

56 is a collar tight on the power-shaft and adjacent to the toothed hubof the powerpulley.

The collar 56 has a groove 57 out therein, within which works a slidingspring-actuated bolt 58, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 6. The bolt 58has a beveled offset 59 projecting therefrom which is adapted to beengaged by the beveled foot 60 of averti'cal slide 61, working in a way62, planed in the end of the support 43. When the slide 61 is in itselevated position, the bolt 58 will be free to engage the teeth on thehub of the power-pulley, and said pulley will cause the power-shaft tobe revolved, but when said slide is depressed so that the beveled footthereof will engage the bolt 58 said bolt will be withdrawn from theteeth or notches on the hub of said powerpulley and the machine will bebrought to a standstill.

63 is a vertical slide working in the way 42 beside the slide 41, and 64is a bar which connects the slides 61 63 together, so that the movementsof said slides will be simultaneous. The lower end of the slide 63tracks upon a raised annular step or cam 65, formed on the upper face ofthe gear-wheel 40, immediately adjacent to the cam 49.

66 is a recess or depression made in the surface of the annular step 65,within which the slide 63 rests when said slide is in its lowestposition and the machine is at a standstill.

The construction of the cams carried by the gear-wheel 40 is clearlyshown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5.

67 is a rock-shaft journaled in bearings 68 on the table, and 69 is afinger which projects beneath the bar 64 and is secured to one end ofsaid rock-shaft. The other end of this rock-shaft is provided with anoperating-handle 70, by means of which said shaft may be rocked and thefinger 69 caused to raise the slides 61 63 to permit the bolt 58 toengage the toothed hub of the power-pulley, whereby the machine is setin motion.

71 is an adjusting-screw tapped within the outer end of the slide 14,the head of which screwbears against the end of one of the ways 15, asclearly shown in Fig. 2, and by manipulating said screw the inward throwof the slide 14 may be regulated, by means of which the pressure of therolls on the hat-body is increased or diminished.

The function of the rolls 5 6 is to revolve the hat-body as thestiffeniugis applied thereon, and by the action of said rolls thestiffenin g is made to soak thoroughly into the felt.

The relative diameters of the various gears with respect to the camwhich controls the stiffening-supply are such that the hat-body will berevolved several times while the stiffening is being applied thereon,and a complete revolution will be given to said hat-bod y between therolls 5 6 after the valve 38 has been closed and the stiffening-supplyshut off.

As shown in the drawings, the rolls 5 6 will be revolved twenty (20)times while the gear 40, carrying the cams, is revolved once, and suchrevolution of said rolls will revolve the hat-body approximately fourtimes. The cams 49 are so timed with respect to each other that thestiffening-s11 pply will be cut off by the cam 49 sufficiently inadvance of the stopping of the machine by the action of the surplus,whereby the quality of the hat is greatly improved.

The operation of my machine is as follows: A hat-body having been placedover the hat- I supports and between the feed-rolls, as shown in sectionat Fig. 3, the operator depresses the handle '70, whereby the verticalslides 61 63 are elevated and the bolt 58*thrown into engagement withthe toothed hub of the power-pulley, which sets the machine in motion.The cam 49 first operates to raise the slide 41 and open the valve 38,thereby permittin g the stiffening compound to flow through the pipe 3aupon the revolving hatbody. The valve 38 remains open until the hat-bodyhas been revolved, approximately, three times through the rolls 5 6.Said valve is then automatically closed by the action of the cam 49, andthe revolution of said hatbody by said rolls 5 6 is continued until theslide 63 drops within the recess 66 in the cam 65, whereby the machineis brought to a standstill. The stiffened hat is then removed andanother one substituted.

By the use of my machine absolute uniformity is obtained in stiffeninghats, for the reason that each hat-body is operated upon precisely thesame length of time and the quantity of stiffening supplied to eachseparate hat-body is in each instance the same.

I do not Wish to be limited to the exact construction shown anddescribed, since it is evident that various alterations and changes indetail may be effected without departing from the spirit of myinvention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a machine for stiffening hats, the combination ofinstrumentalities for supporting and revolving the hat-body, asupply-pipe for conducting the stiffening compound to the hat-body,a-valve within said pipe, and means operating in harmony with therotation of the hat-body for automatically opening and closing saidvalve at predetermined times, whereby the supply of stiffening iscontrolled, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for stiffening hats,the combination of instrumentalitiesfor supporting and revolving the hat-body, a reservoir containing thestiffening compound, a pipe leading from said reservoir and conductingthe stiffening compound to the hat, a cock in said pipe for regulatingthe amount of stiff ening flowing t-herethrough, a cam rotated from thepower-shaft,and operative connections between said cam and a valvewhereby the supply of stiffening to the revolving hatbody isautomatically controlled, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofinstrumentalities for supporting and revolving the hat-body, a reservoircontaining the stiffening compound, a pipe leading from said reservoirand conducting the stiffening compound to the hat-body, a cam rotatedfrom the power-shaft, operative connections between said cam and avalve, whereby the supply of stifiening to the revolving hat-body isautomatically controlled, and a clutch mechanism also operated from acam driven from the power-shaft whereby the machine is brought to astandstill at a predetermined time after the supply of stiffening to thehat has been cut off, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of the table, the springactuated slide 14. capable ofreciprocating in suitable ways thereon, the bracket 10 pivoted between apair of ears on said slide and having suitably journaled therein aconicalshaped feed-roll, a set-screw whereby said bracket may beadjusted, an operating-lever suitably connected to said slide, thebracket 9 pivoted between a pair of cars on the table and havingjournaled therein a feed-rollsimilar to the feed-roll journaled in thebracket 10, a set-screw whereby said bracket 9 may be adjusted, andmeans for revolving said feed-rolls, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair ofconical-shaped feed-rolls journaled in adjustable brackets, aconical-shaped roller loosely journaled in an arm extending from one ofsaid brackets for the purpose of supporting the tip of the hatbody, andoperative connections between said feed-rolls and the power-shaft,substantially as set forth.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair ofconical-shaped feed-rolls journaled in adjustable brackets, a fiat plateor table secured to one of said brackets for the purpose of supportingthe base of the hat-body, and operative connections between saidfeed-rolls and power-shaft, substantially as set forth.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair ofconical-shaped feed-rolls journaled in adjustable brackets, aconical-shaped roller loosely journaled in an arm extending from one ofsaid brackets for the purpose of supporting the tip of the hatbody, aplate secured to the bracket carrying said tip-supporting roll wherebythe base of the hat-body is supported, and operative connections betweensaid feed-rolls and powershaft, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofinstrumentalities for supporting and revolving the hat-body, a reservoircontaining the stiffening compound, a pipe leading from said reservoirand conducting the stiffening compound to the revolving hat-body, apivoted lever one end of which is connected to a valve in said pipewhile the other end of said lever is connected to a vertical slideworking in ways on the table, a cam driven from the power-shaft andadapted to raise and lower said slide, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

9. The combination of the table,instrumentalities for supporting andrevolving the hatbody mounted thereon and driven from the p0wer-shaft, areservoir containing the stiifening compound, a pipe leading from saidreservoir and conducting the stiffening compound to the revolvinghat-body, a gear suitably journaled beneath the table and carrying a camupon its face adapted to engage a vertical slide 41 workin g in ways onsaid table, a pivoted rock-lever one end of which is connected to saidslide while the other end of said lever is connected to a valve in thepipe leading from the stiffening-reservoir, and a train of gears drivenfrom the power shaft and adapted to transmit the motion of the latter tosaid gear 40, substantially as set forth.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination ofinstrumentalities for supporting and revolving the hat-body,instrumentalities for supplying the stiffening compound to saidhat-body, the power-pulley loosely mounted on the power-shaft, a collartight on said shaft and carrying a spring-actuated bolt adapted toengage the toothed hub of said power-pulley, a vertical slide working inways on the bed and having a beveled foot adapted to engage saidspring-actuated bolt to withdraw the latter from engagement with thetoothed hub of said power-pulley, suitable mechanism for elevating saidslide and a gear driven from said powershaft and carryin g an annularstep or cam whereby said slide is prevented from engaging the saidspringactuated bolt throughout a predetermined period, substantially asset forth.

11. In a machine of the character described, the combination of theconical-shaped feedrolls driven from the power-shaft, a reservoircontaining the stiffening compound, a pipe leading from said reservoirto the revolving hat-body, a gear suitably journaled on the frame andcarrying a pair of cams one of said cams being adapted to reciprocate avertical slide whose movements are transmitted to a valve in the pipeleading from the reservoir to the revolving hat-body, the other cam onsaid gear being adapted to control the mechanism for disengaging thepower-pulley from the power-shaft, and a train of gears between saidcam-carrying gear and said power-shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS R. HEIM. Witnesses:

J. S. FINcH, THOS. E. AVERY.

